Meet Our Employee and Leader of the Year
Each year, a special staff member and a manager or director are singled out from the health system’s 8,000-member workforce as our EXCEL Employee and Leader of the Year. Here are our new honorees.
Employee of the Year:
A committee of past EXCEL winners selects the Employee of the Year from the EXCEL Employee of the Month winners from the previous year.
This year’s winner of the prestigious award is Kristin Keen, who is an IS Time and Attendance Analyst in our Human Resources Department.
Kristin has been a valued member of the SMH team since 2016.
Colleagues all praise her for her wealth of experience with HR applications, noting that her expertise and hard work have helped to improve and maintain the MyTime application.
Co-workers also say she always takes time to help others and solve problems, no matter how busy she is.
This has been especially true throughout the pandemic, when the organization had to make COVID-related changes to Time and Attendance policies and processes. Kristin went far above and beyond to help managers understand, apply and explain these changes and respond to staff’s requests and questions.
And despite these challenging times, her co-workers say she remains cheerful, patient and positive.
Congratulations, Kristin! We are so grateful for your dedication and excellent service!
Leader of the Year
Every year, Sarasota Memorial also honors a manager or director who demonstrates exceptional leadership.
Many staff members will recognize this year’s winner — Employee Health Manager Michelle Perala — as she and her department touch just about every employee of the health system, and have played a critical role in the health and safety of the workforce throughout the pandemic.
From the early days of the pandemic, Michelle and her team were front and center, helping to lead the way during the toughest times.
Despite unprecedented challenges, she and Employee Health rose to the occasion, and implemented new programs and protocols to help keep staff as safe as possible, working closely with other departments and hospital leadership. These initiatives include employee testing, the hotline, PPE training and fit testing, vaccine clinics and so much more. All of these efforts occurred amid the department’s regular responsibilities, including non-COVID workplace injuries and illnesses, immunizations, new employee on-boarding and other health and safety programs.
Michelle is a longtime employee who joined the team in 1982, but her connection to Sarasota Memorial goes back even further, as she was a hospital volunteer as a teenager.
Nominations submitted by her peers note that Michelle has been a vital resource and a wealth of information throughout COVID, as she continually monitors CDC guidelines and consults with Infection Control experts to determine best practices.
In addition to her excellent management skills and clinical expertise, Michelle is known for her caring and compassion. She is described as an inspiring leader who makes everyone feel special, and always thanks everyone for a job well done.
Michelle, we can’t thank you enough for your outstanding performance and leadership during this health crisis.
Check out the special awards ceremony here: